A brief photographic look at the life of another Aussie motorcycle racer on the "Continental Circus" 1965-1969.....

A good motorcycle racing friend of mine passed away at the end of October last year....Jack Saunders....

 Above items from the order of service at Jack's funeral....
He in turn was also a good friend of Alan Burt...who I've featured in this blog on several occasions..see the search facility on the RHS of the blog and type in Alan Burt......
Jack sailed for Europe in 1965 with a friend Ron Kirk and perhaps several others.....
Recently fate lent a hand....
An email from Stuart Frossell in California with some images scanned from slides which I recognised as Jack Saunders and others and a quick email back revealed more and the strange tale of Stuart's purchase of a large well kept box of photographic slides totaling over 2000 in number from an old gentleman at a swap meeting in Toowoomba, Queensland. The seller had obtained them from a deceased estate...some research revealed they were originally Ron Kirk of Sydney....he'd died some time back.
Ron was a friend of Jack Saunders and travelled with him to Europe on Jack's Odyssey to the "Continental Circus", that happy go lucky group of Commonwealth country motorcycle racers.....
See my post on Don Cox's book..."Continental Circus" detailing the 1950's era of this disparate group....
So this is far from a history of Jack's life, but a selection of photos from Stuart's slides and some black and white pics taken by me in Australia....
I thank Stuart for his contact and agreement to use the photographs...

Jack in Aden on the way to Europe, 1965

Ron  and Jack....

 ...at the Sphinx on the way to Europe...

Jack, #70, G50 Matchless on the start line of the 1965 Senior TT in the Isle of Man.Jack finished 31st just outside bronze replica time.
#69 is 499 G50 Matchless mounted H.H.Sommerhalder who retired on the second lap.
Jack, riding no.97 a 344 Aermacchi in the Junior TT,  failed to complete the first lap.

 Aussie Malcolm Stanton, 499 Norton Manx #73, second in line in the photo,at the start of the 1965 Senior TT, IOM. 
Malcolm retired on the 5th lap but came 24th in the Junior TT on a Norton in bronze replica time.
#71 is South African A.E.W de Kock also 499 Norton Manx mounted who finished 29th and in bronze replica time.

 

Things don't always go right for TT entrants.... Jack in his "lockup" likely back in England after the 1965 IOM TT...#70 is his 499 G50 Matchless Senior entry and the "bits" are his 344 Aermacchi...... you'll recall Jack failed to finish in the Junior and is working on the Aermacchi in the photo...

Some details from UK ACU Stewards reports and programs for the IOM TT races, 1965 and 1966 when Jack rode there.

 Caption on the slide says..."Jack, Gebby and Ted" on the Ferry, 1965"...
but unsure of where to...

Jack, Lance (who...) and Rae (who..), Mallory Park 1965.
After I posted this post on Jack I acquired from the UK some Mallory Park motorcycle race programs and the one for 26th Sept.1965 was the one thaqt Jack rode in with the photograph above...
John Robinson had kept them all this time and it was he who filled in the results...thanks John.
Small world....
Seems Jack failed to start in his heat of the senior race and started in his heat of the Junior race but was not shown as placed up to 12th...

Titled...."our camp, Le Mans 03.04.1966"

On the road somewhere...Aussies Eric Hinton and Jack Ahearn....

A race paddock "somewhere"...the slide is un-captioned....

"Lewis Young,and Mac, Czechoslovakia 1966"....

Franta Stastney, Brno Czechoslovakia 1967...

Colin Seeley, Brands Hatch 15.04.1967

 

Bill Ivy's Brands Hatch practice crash, 15.04.1967.

French domiciled Aussie, Jack Findlay, likely on a 250 Bultaco, Jicin, Czechoslovakia.

 The Aussie contingent at Boug-en-bresse circuit, mid France...Jack #12,D.Johnson and T.Gill..unsure of year.
Then he continued racing into the 1980's in NSW....mostly on his G50 and occasionally on a G45 he purchased on his return from Ron "Darby" Wilson always then with riding number #53.
A few pics taken by me...

Great mates.... Jack with Alan Burt, both on G50 Matchlesses.

Jack and Alan, Nov.1976 at Amaroo Park on the northern outskirts of Sydney, this time both on G45 Matchlesses...

Again Nov.1976 at Amaroo Park....my Carey headed/Smith framed MAC behind Jack's G45. Jack rode my MAC for a year or two after I retired with good result.  

Further racing photos from Keith Bryen's photo album....1956

This is a series of blogs featuring the Australian privateer, Keith Bryen ( finally rewarded with a factory Moto Guzzi ride in late 1956) from photographs he kindly provided me from his private collection.
He briefly wrote to me over them, and they tell the story well of the nomadic life led by these intrepid racers on the "Continental Circus"...a far cry from the MotoGP of today...
Keith says...
"...1956 was a good year for me as I gradually improved and gained a lot of confidence.
Never at any stage did I harbour any thoughts of becoming a factory rider, I was just enjoying the racing and being able to see other parts of the world and having Gwen with me made it all so much more enjoyable....."
Below is Keith in his first race in 1956 in Europe at Silverstone, UK and it was wet....
Left click on the images to enlarge...
















Racing in Florreffe, Belgium, 6th May 1956....















Hotel de Florreffe, Belgium.....


















20th May 1956, Chimay, Belgium, surveying a seized 350cc Norton...
















Refuelling depot in the pits, Hockenheim, Germany.















Hockenheim, Germany, 13th May 1956...






























Gwen holds Keith goggles preparing for racing at Hockenheim.
















On the starting grid at Hockenhein, 13th May 1956.

Further racing photos from Keith Bryen's photo album....

Keith Bryen had assembled his photos, scanned by himself, into folders of the various years he raced motorcycles.
As mentioned he was in the IOM in 1954 for the TT races, he comments...
..." I had prospects of a good season ahead of me for 1954 but as the result of a stupid mistake in the first lap of practice at the Ulster GP I broke my shoulder and collarbone. So I decided I would return home, as the season would be virtually be finished by the time I would be fit to race again."
It would be 1956 before he returned to Europe again.
These following photos are from the early part of that 1954 season and in the IOM.
Left click on the images to enlarge...
The caption for this is..."going down Bray Hill IOM TT, motor stop"...


















During the Senior TT IOM 1954, Keith finished 13th.

















At Ginger Hall during the Senior TT, IOM 1954























At Braddan Bridge during the Senior TT, 1954

















The start for Keith during the Senior TT, 1954.


















During the 1954 Junior TT, a short in the magneto condensor caused his retirement.

















Finish of the 1954 Senior TT...